Rusted Tin
by Doesnotknowname
Summary: On a friendly bet with Rider to see who could secure their masters' romantic victory, Archer gets a little too personal. Contains Shirou/Rin.


It had started as a friendly competition between the proper servants of the Emiya household (which of course, meant excluding its blonde loafer;) a little contest to see who could secure victory for their master in their affairs of the heart.

Rider had gone first, and it had gone horribly. Spell upon spell was cast in quick succession to patch the holes in a plan that had the structural integrity of a drying sand castle. In the end, Rider admitted defeat with a memory wipe and a swift escape. She was quite lucky to be a learned mage herself. Archer on the other hand, had no such fallback.

He wouldn't need one.

They were in Rin's room. Archer leaned into the wall, arms crossed, eyes closed. Rin had fallen asleep at her table, buried underneath a mountain of paperwork and gems. The trap was set. Now all he had to do was wait.

It was now 3 o' clock in the afternoon. It was the boy's day off and it was still too early to make dinner, which meant that his attention would soon be diverted to maintenance of the home. Seeing as Saber had been put in charge of the laundry and Sakura had taken to raking the garden, the boy would come to sweep the many, many rooms of his home.

A knock on the door. Just as planned.

"Tohsaka? Are you in there? I've just come to see if your room needed any cleaning done."

The door was lightly pushed open. The head of Emiya Shirou slowly peeked into the room.

"Tohsaka if you're busy, I can come back later… Tohsaka?"

The lights had been turned off, concealing Archer in the shadows. Not that he couldn't have just disappeared, but then the next few steps wouldn't be quite as dramatic.

Shirou peered into the room, before slowly, cautiously stepping inside. Archer silently retreated into the deepest corner of the room, running through the plan again in his head. Shirou was wearing his black and white jacket, which meant he had just come from outside. Last time Archer checked, it was awfully sunny out. That meant it would take approximately 10 minutes for the boy's sharp eyes to adjust enough to see him hiding, so he would have to make his move before then, while he still had the element of surprise. Pounce on the boy now however, and there would be nothing to work with. Timing was going to be key here.

Shirou's eyes widened at the sight of Rin fast asleep. He was certainly no pervert, but she had never fallen asleep in the middle of working before! He felt himself be slowly possessed by a dangerous bout of curiosity, and his eyes flicked in two opposite directions: the safety of the door, or the potential treasures Rin left unguarded on her desk.

Archer's brow furrowed. Emiya Shirou's penchant for stupidity was almost absolute. There was no way he was seriously considering escaping!

And yet, Shirou was making his way to the door.

Oh no.

He would have to move now. A subpar maneuver, but it couldn't be helped. Archer opened his mouth to announce his presence, when suddenly-

"Brrr." Rin groaned, shivering slightly in her seat. Shirou's eyes snapped back to her, and a little smile came over his face.

"Silly Tohsaka." he said, taking off his jacket and draping it over her, "You'll catch a cold if you sleep out here."

"Mmmm." she murmured, grateful for the warmth.

Shirou's eyes moved back to the desk. He was really curious.

"What were you working on anyway? No way can this be worth getting sick over." he said, pouring over all the papers.

The faintest grin etched itself on Archer's face. So predictable.

"Finances. Association paperwork. A lesson plan? Shaping and storing mana? Is she trying to teach me gem magic? But I'm no good with any of that..."

A now worried-looking Shirou leafed through the other papers.

"An enrollment form for the Clocktower school? Why? She's already a student there. What's this? It's written in English. Ugh… What's an… AH-pren-tik?"

Go time.

"Apprentice." Archer corrected, blocking off the boy's only escape route, "It means she wants you to go with her to London, as her understudy."

Were it physically possible, Shirou would have leapt back a good ten feet. He was however, already quite close to the wall, and only accomplished smacking himself against it. Rin squeaked a little, but remained fast asleep.

"Y-You!"

"Yes. Me."

"W-What are you doing here?"

"Me? I'm Rin's servant. What are you doing here? Rin won't take kindly to such a blatant invasion of her privacy. Even from you."

"I-I-I was just going to see if she w-was in her room!" he sputtered.

"Kindly keep your voice down. You wouldn't want her waking up and seeing you in here would you?"

"No. You're right. Sorry. I'll just be going now."

Wait what?

"Wait, stop. You don't have any questions about what you just saw?" Archer asked, incredulous.

"Well all I saw was that Rin was looking for an assistant. I'll just tell her to ask Sakura instead, she's way better at magecraft than I am. She'd be way more helpful to Tohsaka than I would."

Archer's hands were involuntarily moving to hold his head. No way. There was no way he, they, were this stupid.

"Have you ever considered why Rin would want to ask you over her own sister to be her apprentice in magecraft?"

"Well I mean… we were allies in the Grail war. And we're friends."

"Goodness, what does she see in an idiot like you?"

"Hey if you have a problem with me we can talk about it outsi-"

"She likes you you babbling idiot. She wants to be with you, which is why she's asking the association for the right to an apprentice despite her young age."

Shirou hung his head, anything but looking back at that piercing glare.

"I knew that."

For the second time in a single minute, Archer found himself going 'Wait what?'

"...You knew?"

Shirou's right arm rubbed lightly at his left shoulder.

"I sort of noticed yeah. She didn't really have to do all that for me in the Grail war. I sort of just took it then for her being a good person but after a long time, even I would notice. I've been treating these dates with everyone as just fun outings but, I guess it's always been a bit more serious for them."

Well then. Looks like this was going to be easier than expected.

"So how do you feel about Rin then?"

"Well, she's great. And I like having her here at home rather than in London."

"So what you're saying is, you don't reciprocate her feelings then?"

With his heightened senses, Archer detected the beat of an anxious heart. He didn't have time to think about whose it was."

"Yes? I mean, no! I mean- I don't know."

Shirou continued to avoid his gaze. This was getting dangerous. Archer decided on a risky, if powerful, offensive.

"You don't know? I seem to recall being quite taken with the Miss Tohsaka Rin as a schoolboy."

Did he? He barely remembered his life before the Grail war. And the Tohsaka Rin, the friend and teacher he came to know was so different from the fantasy his crush had conjured up. So different, so beloved, as to be unforgettable even after the rivers of blood should have been all he could recall.

"I don't know." Shirou repeated, "She's important to me, she really is, but, I don't know how serious she is about this. I don't want to pressure her or anything."

He forced the words out.

"And, and the others. They're important to me too."

Of course. There was still Sakura to think about.

And Saber.

"I just don't know what to feel. I don't want to hurt anyone. I just want everyone to be happy."

Shirou trailed off, as Archer thought deeply about what he had said. On second thought, maybe it would have been easier had the boy stayed completely oblivious.

Shirou lifted his head and looked at Archer dead on. Archer steeled himself, it was looking like a counterattack.

"Archer. In your life, who did you pick?"

Oh shit.

"Listen boy-"

A glare from the boy.

A sigh from the man.

"Listen Shirou." Good lord this was harder than he thought, "In my life, I loved Saber. The vision that saved me from Lancer's spear was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, and would ever see, in my hollow life."

Shirou's eyes widened.

"But she disappeared upon my victory at the end of the Grail War, as all servants must, and I never saw her again. This," he extended an arm around, "All of this, is unprecedented."

"And you are so, so lucky." He added wordlessly.

Shirou continued to look at him. At his face. Archer wished he'd stop.

"What happened next?"

What happened next? When he lost his Illya? When the cruel upbringing the Einzberns put an innocent girl through finally caught up with her body? When he could barely stand how quiet the late afternoon had become? When Rin had to take him away? When he left a grieving Fuji-nee behind?

No. No he didn't need to know about that.

"Rin took me to London as her apprentice. I like to think we did fine work there, the both of us. We even had a few adventures while in Europe. I got this red coat working with some crazy church lady for example."

"And in that whole time, nothing happened?"

"What? What do you mean?"

"Nothing ever… happened? Between you two?"

Archer's mouth fell open.

"Well, no. We were just… just friends. Once we came back to Fuyuki she had her responsibilities as its protector and I…"

Had to save a world that didn't want to be saved. Had to leave the only home, the only family, the only love he had. Had to cross swords with gods and monsters in some unknown and terrifying lands, until he was every bit as cold as those he slew. Never to know loss, never to know gain. Never to know life again until the day he died.

"You had to leave, didn't you?"

"Yes Emiya Shirou. I had to follow my ideals, and they led me away from her. And everyone else I've ever known."

"And that Tohsaka, she never told you how she felt?"

"No."

"Would anything have changed if she did?"

"I don't know."

Past and future gazed at each other, frozen for a painful eternity.

He really wished Shirou would stop looking at him like that.

"Our circumstances were different. Perhaps she did not see me in that way, and what happened was all for the best."

Shirou's eyes told Archer that he was not convinced. How could he be? Archer wasn't either.

Shirou took one last glance back at Rin, still sound asleep, before walking past the stunned Archer.

"Well, in any case, Tohsaka knows how dense I am. If she's more honest with herself, maybe I wouldn't be so confused. I mean, I do like her."

"Wait."

Shirou stopped and turned back, the light from the doorway casting a shadow that hid his features.

"Does this mean if she were to tell you how she honestly feels, you would reciprocate those feelings?"

The silhouette in the doorway thought very hard.

"I think so, yes. I think I would."

And with that, Shirou closed the door and left quickly, having forgotten all about sweeping.

Archer strained his ears, listening to the boy's footsteps disappear.

He had not yet finished whispering "He's gone" when a pair of fists threw themselves at his chest and weakly pounded it.

"Archer what the hell was that?" Rin half-asked, half-screamed, punching him all the while.

"I believe what the hell that was Master, was complete and utter victory handed to you on a silver platter. Just as expected from such a master-servant pair as formidable as ourselves."

But that's not what she was asking about. Archer could tell from the fear and worry that flowed through their bond, something was very wrong with his master.

He looked down and saw her attempt to hide her face, but it was too late. He already saw the tears. And after he had dedicated his afterlife to keep her and everyone else from crying too.

"Rin. What is it?"

Rin pulled away, and decided to stare at the wall instead.

That was fine, sooner or later she would answer. Even if he had to stew in this mixture of anxiety and pain she was emanating.

It took her some time before she turned back around. The tears had stopped falling, but they still danced in the corners of her eyes.

"Archer?"

"Yes, Master?"

"Do you ever look at me and wonder?"

"Wonder what?"

But he already knew.

"Why didn't I save you?"

"Rin, that was not your responsibility, and my life was not your fault."

"But I could have done something! Anything!"

The tears were threatening to fall again. She walked over to him and buried her face in his coat to hide her shame.

"I… I loved you. So… So why didn't I..."

"Rin. We don't know that for sure. It was a different time, a different life."

"No! I loved you! I did!", she choked, "I'm sure I did."

"And how can you be so sure?"

For a short while, he heard only sobs.

"Because… Because I can't imagine a world where I don't."

Archer said nothing, but held her close.

They stayed that way for a while, as Rin tried to gather her thoughts.

"I know Archer." She said at last, "I know it's stupid for me to cry about this. But hearing that just made me so sad. So angry. What was I doing, just watching you go off on your own? How could I do that to you?"

"Rin,you can't do everything, especially not at your age. You had a lot of responsibilities, just like you do now."

"But none of them are more important than you."

Again, another moment frozen in time. She, sobbing quietly into his jacket. He, thinking of the right words to say.

He got it.

"Master, maybe you should try telling him that."

Rin pulled her face back to look at him, her eyes colored with anger. There we go. This was the Rin he knew.

"Don't be dumb Archer, I can't do that! I would look like an idiot! A buffoon! Stupid confessions are what a stupid little schoolgirl would do! I can't! I…"

Rin's voice died as she continued to look at her servant, the ghost of a smile on his lips. She suddenly felt so grateful and so blessed that he was somehow, miraculously, still here. Still with her, long after the Grail war had ended.

"I… I can't do it on my own Archer." she whispered.

"I'll be nearby. Just tell me when."

It was then that the scent of some delicious (though he would never admit it) cooking wafted past, and Archer wiped the tears from his master's eyes.

"Dinner smells great." Rin said, doing her best to smile.

"Hmph. He probably used too much salt again."

As they walked into the dining room, Archer took a good look at the family. Illya was leaping on Fujimura's back and demanding her new steed ride like the wind. Sakura and Shirou were serving dinner to the rest, with Saber's eyes sparkling like Rin's gems as she was handed her extra rice. His master sat down beside Shirou and immediately began berating him for being behind on their lessons, detailing a new plan to get his magecraft training up to speed. Rider peacefully drank her soup, completely unaware of the crushing defeat she had just suffered.

The little smile returned to his face. He had no idea what Rin had been crying about. Here was his family, his home, his love.

She had indeed saved him.


End file.
